Nobody better have to pee

There are pros and cons to every situation. Focusing on the pros can really get you through sometimes, especially when the cons make you want to punch someone in their throat.

We do not own our humble abode. We rent it. As much as the husband and I would like a place of our own, renting does have an upside. When things break, it is not our job to fix them. More important, it is not our responsibility to pay for the repairs.

When something in our house needs fixed, we call our landlord and he sends out his guy. The Jack of all trades. Actually, his name is Frank.

Frank has really pulled through for us. A year and a half ago, our kitchen sink clogged up. I know I wrote a post on it, but I'll be damned if I can find it. Let's just say that we were doing the dishes in the bathtub for two weeks. Ya, it was a nightmare! We think it had something to do with our neighbors. By the way, a duplex? That's a con!

Towards the end of last summer, our water heater decided to leak all over the place. Have I mentioned the basement is also the husband's computer room? Fun times! Frank came to inspect the situation, hauling a new water heater in the bed of his truck. Once it was installed, he realized the ignitor was busted. Back to Home Depot he went.

I'm starting to think that Frank may have something against us with all these less than easy fixes. Our current situation is certainly not helping that matter!

A few days ago, our bathroom sink clogged up. The water is black as night and smells of Drano. The landlord and I both agree that it has something to do with sharing plumbing with our neighbors. Again, duplex equals con. He placed a call to Frank, who graced us with his presence yesterday morning.

Frank's lovely mood walking in our door should have tipped me off. Yes, "lovely" is dripping with all kinds of sarcasm!

When I showed him the sink, he asked if we had tried to put Drano down the sink. We had. Over a month ago. I told Frank this, to which he replied, "Well I need to know if you put it down there or not cuz I have to stick my hand in there". I don't know what crawled up his ass, but I wasn't lying to the man.

In the next 30 minutes or so, I hear the snake going into the drain followed by lots and lots of mumbling. Frank finally comes downstairs. And throws my hairdryer at my feet!

"You have to throw this away. It fell in the water."

Um, excuse me? Ya, I could have moved it, but so could you. Idiot!

By the end of Frank's time here, he did not fix the sink. He said he couldn't find the clog and would be back. Out the door he went. Which left me wondering when exactly he would return. Taking the kids to the pool was not looking like a possibility.

Finally our landlord called and explained that a game plan was in the making. Frank was on his way to Home Depot. He had noticed that the tiles around the base of our toilet need replaced. That works out because our current toilet needs to be ripped out to try and snake the pipes from there. If that doesn't work, he would have to go in through the access panel and try those pipes. By the way, that access panel is located in GG's room. And if that doesn't work, he might have to rip out the vanity and try from there.

After spending last night taking everything out of the bathroom and cleaning GG's room, we better have a new toilet, new floor, and a sink that works by the end of today. And if Frank decides to leave a mess, as he sometimes does, my inner bitch will need to come out of hibernation.


Wish me luck today. If nothing else, I'm sure today will create some great blog fodder.



Until next time...



5 comments:

Oka said...

something tells me the heat is getting to everyone. Good Luck.

Kmama said...

Good luck with that. I hope he can fix it for you.

Shell said...

Frank sounds cranky.

BNM said...

maybe u should slip frank a happy pill.. renting does have its pros and cons and im in the freakin middle. we rent to own which means were responsible for all repairs it blows and still have a cranky repair man grrr

Rachel said...

Eek! Sounds like an unpleasant situation all around. At least the landlord isn't in on all the yuck, right?

Hoping you have brand-new everything soon!